The Orga race has one to three horns on their heads and are generally a large-bodied species. They are said to live far in the western sea, though they are not as massive as the Giant race. In Trot Celesta and the northwest plains, however, they boast the strongest arm strength, unmatched by any other race. Their naturally large bodies and arm strength ensure that even mediocre weapons do not pose a problem for them in combat. According to official tactics of the Celestian army, if an armed human male or lightly armored dwarf is rated as 1, then an unarmed Orga male would be equivalent to 2.5. In other words, no matter how heavily armed a human soldier may be, it’s considered tactically forbidden for them to challenge an unarmed Orga with fewer than two soldiers. With appropriate armament, their combat evaluation jumps to five, equating one Orga to a single cavalryman in full charge. The Orga’s bold and powerful style of fighting is the star attraction on any battlefield. Considering this, it’s easy to see how rare an Ace Knight would be if they were expected to match or surpass five Orga soldiers alone.
By the way,
The large bodies and monstrous appearance of the Orgas are generally considered ugly and grotesque by humans, a fact that even the Orgas themselves acknowledge. That said, the Orgas do not think humans are beautiful either. They say human women are “too frail to be trusted” and “cute but only inspire affection like for livestock; they don’t arouse lust.”
Of course, the Orga race has its own standards of beauty and a balance in their sexual sensibilities. While Orga women aren’t as muscular as men, they are tall by nature, and possess a reproductive system that can accommodate an average-sized Orga penis measuring nearly fifty centimeters long (even instinctively shifting internal organs to make room). Additionally, Orga women tend to be energetic overall, with some regions maintaining matrilineal societies where polyandry still exists. A strong woman who is tall, good-natured, and can accommodate men is considered an “ideal” Orga woman, the polar opposite of a modern human society’s ideal lady. Therefore, even in Celesta where inter-racial marriage is legally recognized, there are few marriages between humans and Orgas. Despite sharing the same social environment as humans and elves, they are viewed almost like complete “alien species.” Amidst all this, an Orga youth managed to clear numerous obstacles and find a human lover. Ernie Boyd: A new recruit in the Crossbow Corps of the Celesta Northern Army stationed near Bason, a trading city in northern Celesta. He’s a provisional soldier. This is the story of that miraculous couple. Well, maybe “miraculous” was overstating it. It wasn’t quite a miracle, but still pretty impressive.
◇◇◇
In Bason, there are horse-drawn carriages circulating through town at random.
The carriage didn’t go very fast, stopping frequently to let passengers on and off. The fare was cheap and the driver would bend the rules a little. It was more of a public service than an ordinary ride, but it allowed horses that had retired from racing to take leisurely walks around town.
Silvia MacLean rode in such a carriage to head over to the stadium on the other side of the city.
That day, there was going to be a magic show at the stadium. By “magic,” they didn’t mean sleight-of-hand tricks but real spells. Researchers from the Magic Research Department at the Capital University would perform their research-funded magic acts once a year and tour around Celesta for fun.
Silvia looked forward to this annual event more than anything else.
”…♪”
“Miss, you seem in high spirits,” said the elderly driver.
“Yes, I look forward to the magic show every year,” she replied with a broad smile.
“Oh yeah, it’s that time of year. Well, why don’t I take you there and watch the show too?”
“Hey, you’re missing out if you don’t look, old man!”
“Hah hah hah, well, as long as no one else is riding the carriage to the arena, it’s fine.”
The carriage clattered along at a leisurely pace toward the arena.
Ernie was on duty for shopping that day. He and his superior, Kelly Isaac, the Ten-Man Leader, had come to Bason pulling a cart together.
“Why are we the ones doing the shopping?”
“We could have made the humans do it.”
Their grumbling about being on shopping duty was all too familiar. But there was a reason behind their complaints.
Ernie (Plain Orga, 277 cm) and Kelly (Cow Orga, 310 cm) can’t ride in the wagon. Well, soldier transport wagons are made to accommodate Orgas, so they could technically fit inside. However, there’s no way for them to sit on the driver’s seat. Therefore, when it’s their turn, they pull a hand-drawn cart instead. Even though Orgas pride themselves on being strong, it doesn’t make sense for them to do work that horses can handle better. “Besides, Basson’s sundry shop has such low ceilings it’s unbearable.” “It’s almost impossible for us to stand up straight when we’re in there.” “When I was taking orders before you came along, a kid pointed at me and said ‘Look! A cow is shopping!’” “…Yeah.” Cow Orgas live near the great desert labyrinth of Celesta Central. They generally have faces that resemble cows. Kelly being called a cow isn’t anything new to her, so Ernie doesn’t know how to react. Kelly didn’t seem upset about it either; she just sighed. “I usually respond by saying ‘I’m not a cow, I’m an Orga!’ and strike a muscle pose.”
「…are you doing a muscle pose?」 「It’s funny, isn’t it? Try this when kids are scared of you next time.」 Kerry Isaac turned out to be surprisingly fond of children. 「But back then I was almost on all fours and couldn’t even strike a pose. Plus, they called me an ox and I couldn’t deny it; it was really frustrating.」 「…I wish everything would fit our size though.」 「You said it.」 Due to construction issues (castles and military facilities aside), civilian houses were not built to accommodate their size.
The two of them pulled the cart down the main street, stopping in front of a familiar general store. Basson was one of the most rapidly developing cities in Celesta. Rapid development meant there was plenty of construction work going on, which also meant many ogres working as laborers. The pair didn’t stand out among other pairs of ogre workers.
“Alright, Boyd. You go and order it.”
“It’s me?”
“I won’t forget that humiliation.”
”…Huh?”
Well, if it was Ernie, he could bend a little to get in. He tried to take the job and enter the general store.
At that moment—
BOOM!!
“Oh my God!?” “W-What is this!?”
The sky echoed with an enormous sound, as though even thunder would be ashamed. The ground shook.
Ernie and Kelly jumped. Not just them, but people from all over the town came out of their houses in surprise. They looked around nervously. Amidst this chaos, a carriage sped past the corner at high speed. “Hyaah!!” The driver tumbled off his seat as he turned the corner. “What’s going on! What is that?!” “The horse got spooked and wouldn’t listen to me… I-I-I-It…” “Old man?!” When Kelly tried to help him up (or rather, pick him up), the old man cried out in pain. His arm seemed broken. “Damn it, need a doctor…”
“W-Wait a minute! There’s still a passenger in that carriage! A girl!”
“What?!”
The wagon was careening wildly, and it wasn’t clear what would happen next. Kelly clenched his teeth.
“Damn it.”
“Sergeant! We have to do something about that!”
Ernie slapped Kelly on the shoulder.
Kelly turned sharply to look at Ernie.
“…You think we can?”
“We’re the strongest Celesta army!”
“Didn’t I say that?” Ernie was young and had dreams about the military. For example, he believed it should be natural but difficult for soldiers to prioritize helping civilians in crisis. The longer one served in the military, the more they forgot this mindset because they became too accustomed to wielding their swords without hesitation. Kelly laughed. His ogre face looked ferocious when smiling, but Ernie thought that smile was reassuring above all else. “Let’s go!! Follow me, Boyd!!” “Got it!!” The two ogres started running. The citizens of Basson gasped at the sheer power displayed by their massive bodies in full sprint.
An ogre’s large body also functioned as an advantage when moving. A trained ogre’s speed was proportional to its enormous lower half, making it fast enough to catch up with a heavy cart, even if not quite able to keep pace with a naked horse.
However, the dozen seconds it took to make a decision were effective, and they couldn’t catch up easily. After running several hundred meters, they still hadn’t managed to get close enough.
“Damn… Boyd, if we keep this up, we’ll miss the main street!”
“Yeah?”
“It’s now or never! You gotta fly!”
“…What?”
Arnie was momentarily lost as to what Kelly meant.
Of course. There was no way jumping would make them faster on such a well-paved road.
But Kelly was the squad leader for a reason; he had a reputation for coming up with tactics at a moment’s notice. His mind wasn’t as dull as his bovine face might suggest.
“I’ll throw you, and then you save the passengers from the carriage!”
“…Eh?! What?!”
That was still an incredibly reckless plan. But Ernie also believed that Kelly was a competent squad leader. If he said it could be done, then it would be. “…Alright, I’ll do my best!” “Y-You… uuuuoooooohhhhhh!!!” Without hesitation, Kelly grabbed Ernie’s arm and flexed his muscles to an incredible degree, making him look even bigger than before. He threw Ernie forward with all that strength. “U-Uh, oh, ooooh!!” Ernie spun around as he flew through the air, tracing a beautiful parabola seven meters above Basson’s main street. Then, “Ogaaah!” He landed on top of a carriage roof—or rather, blew it off and sank into it with a thud.
“Hii!!” Sylvia MacLean, who was inside the carriage, trembled in fear. The carriage had been swerving wildly when suddenly an ogre broke through the roof and fell into it. But Arnie shook his head and got up. At the end of the main street there was a tavern, and if the horses continued at their current speed, they would inevitably crash into it without being able to turn in time. That place was already right ahead. Arnie’s body had stuck out from the carriage. Seeing this, he panicked. “Uu, aaaahhh!!” There was no time for thought. He reached out his hand and grabbed onto something soft.
Crash!!
A moment later, as expected, when the horses tried to turn, the carriage couldn’t keep up and tipped over, crashing into the wall.
Ernie woke up two days later. “…Boyd! Boyd’s awake!” In the soft bed of the town clinic, Ernie moved his body slightly. His joints creaked, but he seemed to be in one piece. Seeing Ernie like this, Captain Diane let out a sigh of relief. Happy that she had been worried about him, Ernie suddenly overflowed with tears and whispered “Sorry.” Hearing Diane’s voice, Sylvia McLean was the first to rush into the room and throw herself at Ernie. “Thank goodness…!!” The girl he had saved. Ernie’s last action was protecting Sylvia unharmed.
Amidst the collision with the wall and the destruction of the carriage, Ernie’s giant hand had protected Sylvia.
When she awoke, the first thing Sylvia saw was Ernie’s gentle grip protecting her while he half-collapsed the mortar wall.
And then—
“…Um. I’ll take care of Mr. Boyd!”
“No, it’s okay. Sorry.”
“But you saved my life! Let me do this!!”
“…Uh, uh…”
After being pressured into it, for about ten days afterward she had helped him with everything from meals to bathroom breaks.
And then, one month later—
“Izzy Squad Leader. Could we switch the cleaning duty day tomorrow?”
“Ooh, so you’re going on a date with that human girl, Boyd?”
“I’d rather not be surprised. That’s what it looks like.”
“…What the hell?!”
Kerry stood up and shouted. The other members gathered around as well.
“What is it? What happened? Explain yourself, Isaac.”
“Y-Yeah, Smisson. This idiot says he’s going on a date with a human girl.”
“No way.”
“It’s true.”
“What do you mean by that, Boyd?”
“I-I don’t know either.”
The next day. Ernie was dressed in Kelly’s old sea beast leather jacket, Andy-made belt and bracelets, Diane-cleaned clean shirts, and Angeles-picked cool shoes for his date with Sylvia. “…” He thought she might be teasing him a little. But the good quality parchment paper would have been too expensive to use as mockery, and besides, the letter was written in such earnestness.
──Ernie-kun. I’m inviting you on a date. Let’s go to the stadium together from Sunday noon. I’ll wait for you at that tavern like I believe you will come. Sylvia
The tavern wall still hasn’t been repaired. Painful memories resurfaced.
Ernie’s single horn was broken in half by the impact of the collision. ”…My horn, is it gone?” On a whim, he approached the collapsed wall. Looking carefully at the ground and walls, he found what he was looking for partially buried on the floor. ”…Haha, there it is.” “What is it?” “U-whoa, Sylvia-san!?” “Sylvia says hello to you, Ernie-kun!” Sylvia stood peering down at his hands. Ernie had been so tense and distracted that he hadn’t noticed her approach until now. “Eh… um…” “Yeah? If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay. But…?”
“Y-Yeah! Got it!”
Ernie took the hand that was offered to him, gently placing his fingers on top of hers.
“…You really want to go out with me?”
“You didn’t believe me?”
“Well, I’m an Orga…”
Since she found out he was a year older than her, Sylvia had suddenly started acting like an older sister. Ernie was eighteen and Sylvia nineteen years old. Even though they were young, the face of an Orga looked fierce and intimidating. Sylvia’s teasing manner, sometimes even wrapping around him, made for quite a mismatch.
“Huhu… I really like your hand, Arnie-kun.”
“What?”
”…Well, kind of. When Arnie hugged me back then and held me close, I felt a little flutter in my heart. It was really warm.” “Hmm?” “Is that not okay?” ”…Huh?” “The reason why I like you.” “Eh…!?” When she said “like” so casually, Arnie got flustered. Sylvia smiled happily at his innocent reaction and squeezed his index finger, which was as thick as a child’s arm. “It’s strange how once you start liking someone, everything they do just seems cute.” ”…C-cute…?” “Mmm♪”
Ernie, who had never been called cute before, made an indescribable expression. Sylvia happily pulled Ernie by the hand and led him to the arena.
The arena was empty that day; there were no events scheduled. On days without any activities, it was open to the public for people to enjoy running or playing ball games, serving as a place of relaxation for citizens. Naturally, there weren’t many spectators interested in looking around inside the venue, so the stands where Ernie and Sylvia entered were almost empty.
“Back then, it was because of the magic show.”
“What?”
“The boom—when the horse got spooked by that sound.”
“Oh… I see.”
The Magic Research Department at the Capital University only focused on studying magic; they didn’t have a bunch of skilled practitioners. Even if there were failures, the magical power involved was small enough to be handled with magic and caused less damage than alchemy research. It seemed like some level of failure was tolerated as if it were an unavoidable disaster.
“People could’ve died from that, so it’s pretty bad.”
“Yeah. That’s true. If Ernie had died, I might have hated magic shows for the rest of my life.”
”…We’re not going to die anytime soon. You were the one who almost did.”
“Uh-huh… but you know what? I’m kind of glad it happened. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have met Ernie.”
”…”
Ernie blushed and scratched his head with a hunched posture.
His obvious and innocent reaction made Sylvia blush too.
They spent several minutes staring at each other until Sylvia changed the subject to break the awkwardness.
“By the way, when I was little, I couldn’t see anything in the arena. My dad used to carry me on his shoulders all the time.”
“Huh…”
“When he carried me, everything looked so different. I begged him for a long time before I stopped being that small.”
She smiles and then, leaning against Ernie’s back in a pleading voice, she asks, “…Ernie-kun, can I ride on your shoulders?” “I-I’m okay with that!?” “No good? I thought someone as big as you could handle me.” “Well, yeah, maybe one or two humans wouldn’t be much trouble, but—your butt would get touched, right?” “…Haha-hahahaha!!” Ernie’s words are so ridiculous that Sylvia bursts out laughing. Ernie looks confused, wondering if he said something strange. “It’s okay, it’s okay! Shoulder rides are free! C’mon, let me up there.” “A-all right… I’ll do it then.”
Ernie carefully supports her waist and knees as he gently lifts Sylvia onto his shoulders.
Silvia’s line of sight instantly rises. The world changes. “Wow… amazing, amazing!” ”…Um, um…” Ernie holds his head as if Silvia is hugging it, and her chest hits the back of his head, distracting him. After a few seconds, he notices that Silvia’s skirt is rather short and panics, shifting his body slightly to avoid exposing her underwear. His movements seem like he’s soothing Silvia, who laughs like a child. They continue this for a while, but then Silvia starts patting Ernie’s head. While waiting to see what she wants, an inquisitive voice comes from above his head. ”…Ernie-kun, you don’t have horns on the left side… since birth?” “No. I had them before.” It wasn’t that long ago; only a few years back. But Ernie likes to sound older by saying “before.” Using the word “before” makes him feel like he’s in the same league as someone older, giving him a sense of maturity.
“…” Since they seemed to be waiting for him to continue, Ernie cleared his throat. He didn’t really think it was something he should talk about much, but since Sylvia had said she liked him, he thought it would be okay to tell her. It would also help pass the time. “I’m from an Orga Colony near the coast close to Afilum’s border. And there, Dragon Palace was nearby.” “Hmm hmm.” “Well, I helped a dragon out once there. They were really grateful and gave me one of their treasures as thanks.” “That’s amazing!” Dragons. The strongest and most solitary race among all races. They didn’t interact with other races and lived in seclusion within Dragon Palace. Their treasures had astronomical value and were the dream prizes for adventurers. “I took it back to the colony… but they assumed I stole a dragon treasure, and got really mad at me.”
“W-what…?” “It was a punishment for this horn being plucked. It hurt like hell.”
Ernie had helped the dragon by chance. While hunting in the mountains, he found a young dragon who had collapsed from fever.
Dragons were a different species than flying dragons; they possessed intelligence levels comparable to that of apes and humans, and lived as human-like beings in their everyday lives. If they lived in their true forms, even Dragon Palace would be too small, and it wouldn’t serve its purpose as a hidden village. Seeing the young dragon, Ernie was both awed by the legend of dragons and brave enough to carry him back to Dragon Palace despite still being a child himself.
The grateful dragon tribe gave him one secret treasure in return for his kindness. It was a beautiful gem called the Dragon’s Jewel that never clouded over or broke. When Ernie returned with it, the adults were speechless. They couldn’t believe that dragons would give such valuable items to a mere child. They concluded he must have stolen it by sneaking into Dragon Palace and playing pranks. And they decided on their own to seek revenge and make him atone for his supposed sins.
I was screaming that I wasn’t lying, but they restrained me and pulled out my horns as punishment. Then they made me climb the mountain to apologize to the dragon. Even though it was meant to be a sacrifice for the adults, little Ernie could feel it in his bones.
The wound where my horn had been torn out hurt like hell, and with rain pouring down, it was an awful night. I staggered into Dragon Palace as instructed and apologized… Then the dragon people cried and apologized to me too. They said they’d done a terrible thing and asked for forgiveness. All they did was give me treasure, but seeing them cry so much over my wound made me incredibly happy.
“…Ernie, you…”
“But I can’t go back now that I’ve been sacrificed. So after getting the dragon people to treat my wounds, I left Quica as a soldier. …They probably think I’m dead back home, huh? Hahaha.”
“…………”
“And that’s why I really like other races more than orcs. It makes me so happy when they’re nice to me. It feels like I deserve to live. Oh, and I didn’t expect someone as pretty as Sylvia to say she liked me today, so I got carried away, hahaha.”
“…I’m sorry!!”
“Haha… huh?”
Ernie was surprised when she suddenly apologized from above his head. He had thought the story would get mushy eventually, but he hadn’t expected her to apologize like that.
But Sylvia continued by stroking Ernie’s broken right horn with her finger and then clinging onto his big head as she began sobbing loudly.
“Huu, gghh, I’m sorry… It’s just that you’re so big and I kind of fell for it without really thinking, and then I said I liked you… Uwahhh, I’m sorry… Your horns broke because of me, the last one too…”
“It’s okay. The root is still there; they’ll grow back on the right side.”
“But, but… uhhh… I didn’t know that my feelings for you would be so heavy and hard to understand… I’m sorry, I will properly like you from now on… Arnie-kun, I promise I’ll really like you again…”
“Calm down, calm down. It’s fine; I’m just happy that Sylvia-san likes me.”
“Aa-nii-kuuu! Waaaaahhhhhh!”
Sylvia started crying uncontrollably, overwhelmed by emotion.
Arnie was at a loss. He was very much at a loss.
She continued to cry until the sun set.
“…I’m sorry, I got confused seeing Arnie-kun like this.”
“Heh… Well, it’s nice that I could see your cute side.”
I couldn’t see it because it was always behind my head.
Silvia sniffled and wiped her nose, then looked up at Ernie with a serious expression. “T-Then let me say this again… I really like you, Ernie. I’ve come to love you.”
“Y-Yes?”
“…So…”
“…………”
“…………”
She had lost momentum and lowered her head in embarrassment. Ernie was also flustered, his face red as he stared at her.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Ernie saw a familiar bovine face. “!? ”
Kerry, and Andy at her feet. Andy was sitting with his legs crossed, pointing down at Kerry silently flipping him off. It wasn’t very mature of him. Kerry pumped her fists in front of her face, giving a “Go! Go!” sign. Ernie was taken aback by what they were doing but after some thought he understood the meaning behind Kerry’s “Go!” gesture. That’s right. Ernie had to move forward. That was the situation. “Um,” At the sound of his voice, Sylvia looked up in surprise. Ernie bent down and looked her straight in the eye as he said earnestly, “I also love you very much… I would like to be your boyfriend.” “Yes.”
Silvia moved closer and kissed the giant lips of the ogre with her delicate ones. The setting sun sliced across the mountain ridges, casting a gentle shadow over the lovers.
◇◇◇
“Smithson Decurion.” “What’s this? If it isn’t Boyd Sub-Lieutenant, the man with a girl by his side.” “Um… I-I need to talk about her.” “Cheh. What is it now? Another special accessory you want? My taste isn’t that good and I can’t keep up with your requests forever.” “No, well, not exactly an accessory…” “…Oh, so it’s something else then. Alright, wait a moment.”
Silvia usually worked at a deli in the corner of Basson city, frying food there.
That night, Arnie showed up unexpectedly without an appointment. “Sorry, I’m closing the sign… ah, Arnie.” “Ms. Sylvia. Um… this, would you take it?” Suddenly, a small accessory was thrust in front of Sylvia. It was a necklace made by Andy, with lacquer applied to Arnie’s horn and a thin chain passed through holes drilled into it. “Eh… This is…” “Yes. I want the person I love to have my horns.” “Whick. …Damn it. Listen up you guys. Even though I’m here now, back home there’s this incredibly beautiful girl! With big boobs! And her waist is so tiny and curvy! She loves me so much! Plus, you’re a half-elf!” “Oh yeah sure, here we go again with Smisson’s imaginary girlfriend story.” “Looks like it’s time. Waitress-san, let’s get the bill.”
“So it’s not in my head! She really isn’t Boyd’s girlfriend or anything like that, you moron! Listen up, dumbass!”
The crossbow squad was peaceful tonight as various races shared drinks.